Senate Democrats voted Thursday to change one of the most fundamental rules of Congress by invoking the "nuclear option," which is a change in the filibuster rules that would allow presidential nominees to executive and judicial branch nominations to be confirmed by a majority vote rather than by at least 60 votes. The rule change was passed by a 52-48 vote.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv.) said on the Senate floor that the rule change is necessary to end the gridlock in Congress, even though Democrats have themselves used the 60-vote filibuster rule to block appointments when the Republicans were in the majority.

"It's time to change the Senate before this institution becomes obsolete," he said. 

Reid was followed at the lectern by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who criticized the move as an attempt to distract Americans from the problems surrounding the Affordable Care Act. He also noted that it was Democrats who pioneered the Senate filibuster tactic and warned that Republicans will not hesitate to use the nuclear option to jam through their own appointments once they receive the majority. 

"It only reinforces the narrative of a party that is willing to do and say just about anything to get its way,” McConnell said. "You may regret this sooner than you think."

McConnell described the nuclear option as "breaking the rules to change the rules," a phrase that has been echoed by many Republicans today. Reid countered by saying that the Senate has changed its procedural rules 18 times since the 1970s, though none of them have been formal rule changes like the one Democrats have made today. The last change to the required vote limit was in 1975, when the two-thirds majority limit was lowered to 60 votes.

The vote for the nuclear option comes in response to the constant attempts by Senate Republicans to block President Barack Obama's nominations to D.C. Circuit courts. The one exception to the rule change is nominees to the Supreme Court. 

After the vote, Senator John McCain (R-Az.), told reporters that this move "puts a chill on anything in the Senate that requires bipartisanship" He later tweeted a warning to Democrats: "If a majority of the Senate can change the rules at anytime, there are no rules."

With the new rules in place, the Democrats immediately put them to use by voting to advance the nomination of Patricia Millett to the D.C. Circuit Court. The motion passed by a 55-43 vote. Democrats had attempted to advance the nomination before invoking the nuclear option, failing to reach the supermajority with a 57-40 vote.